Commuter Benefit Solutions Blog

Salary is the most important thing to keep people happy at work, right?

Maybe not.

Ask 2,000 people what makes them happy in a job and you get some interesting answers.Lexington Law, a Utah-based credit repair firm, recently did that to find out what people valued in a job. Salary didn’t top the list, surprisingly.

The Lexington Law survey found Americans are significantly more likely to value things like benefits, interests and company culture rather than salary when selecting jobs.

About 60 percent would accept a job they love at half their current income over a job they dislike.

However, when you break it down by age, Millennials and Generation X workers would be willing to take a job they disliked — as long as they doubled their current income.

When asked what are the important factors when taking a job, the answers were not as unanimous as you might think. Nearly 70 percent of the respondents said salary is not the most important factor. About 40 percent said interests and passions were the most important factor.

About 10 percent cited benefits — which scored higher than company culture (7 percent). Overall, respondents said benefits and company culture were 70 percent more important than salary when taking a job.

With benefit offerings being so important in today’s tight job market, it’s another reminder why adding fringe benefits like commuter benefits can make a big difference when someone is weighing the pros and cons of joining a company.

Commuter benefits offer the best of both worlds. Employees benefit because they can save up to 40 percent on commuting costs. The benefit can be applied to public transit, rideshares and qualified paid parking.

Here’s an example of the savings. A single Philadelphia resident who rides SEPTA to work and makes $75,000 per year can save more than $1,100 on commuting costs. That’s almost an entire month’s rent payment on an average apartment in Philadelphia.

Employers benefit too for many reasons. The first is payroll taxes. Since your employees have less taxable income, you will pay less in payroll taxes.

Commuter benefits are also a great addition to a benefits package since they directly impact the commuter. It will help to attract and retain the best talent, especially since commuter benefits are being adopted as a staple benefit by businesses across the country.

Third, since commuting is often frustrating and lengthy, your employees will appreciate you letting them pay less to do it.